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COURSE CARE

On The Road With The USGA - January 2008
February 27, 2015

On The Road With The USGA - January 2008

By Bob Vavrek, Senior Agronomist
January 15, 2008

How "climate change" may affect turf maintenance
at courses located across the north central tier of states was
discussed by a meteorologist at the recent Wisconsin Turf
Symposium. The good news was that there will likely be more
rainfall per season and that the upper Midwest could be less
affected by drought than other regions of the country. The bad
news was that the extra rain would likely occur during the
winter months.

If you believe the weatherman (and who doesn't?), all of
that extra rain would definitely increase the potential for
winter injury. Keep in mind, warmer winters will not
necessarily equate to fewer episodes of winterkill. In fact,
mild weather occurring later into the fall and earlier in
spring only increases the chances of crown hydration injury.
Turf species, such as
Poa annua
and perennial ryegrass, that never have an opportunity to fully
harden off will have little ability to withstand thaw/freeze
events and low temperatures. Furthermore, milder winters will
likely produce less consistent snow cover.

Do I cover greens or don't I? Do I remove snow and ice
or don't I? Do I apply another treatment of snow mold
protection or don't I? Do I open the course to play or
don't I? These are questions that will be asked more
frequently in the future, and making the wrong decision can
have more serious consequences than in the past. For example,
it really didn't matter if you covered greens or not as
long as there was plenty of deep, continuous snow cover.

The office phone begins ringing this time of the year with
the age old question: "do I remove ice from my greens or
not?" The answer is always the same: "it
depends." It's a rare winter in this Region where ice
could stay on the greens long enough to injure creeping
bentgrass. However, it can remain on the turf longer than the
70 continuous days necessary to affect
Poa annua
.

If greens have been under ice cover for 50 - 60 days and
there are still several weeks of cold weather left to push the
turf into the red zone then it makes sense to remove ice. On
the other hand, it makes little sense to remove ice that
initially develops during late January and early February,
since the ice isn't likely to remain solid for another 70
days without at least several opportunities for significant
thaws. Removing ice and exposing the turf to temperatures well
below freezing is never a good idea, so try and put snow back
on the turf if possible, especially in the northernmost reaches
of the Region.

Whether or not to remove ice is never an easy or simple
call. Sometimes, what you decide is dictated by those around
you. No one wants to be only person in town who didn't
remove ice when dead turf is discovered in spring. However, it
sure is a pain when the two nearest courses to you each have a
10 man crew removing thick, 1-week old ice from new, pure
bentgrass greens during late February. You look at your entire
winter crew, which consists of the mechanic who could have
retired 10 years ago, and ask."do I remove ice or
don't I?"